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Elsie
Janis and her Gang
Janis
appeared in London in 1914 and 1915, a heady time professionally and
politically as she was caught up in the European war effort.
Following the war, Janis maintained her commitment to the fighting
men to whom she had become so attached. Charles Dillingham agreed to
produce Elsie Janis and Her Gang, a revue which Janis created
for returned out-of-work soldiers, some of whom she had entertained
during the war. Even though she was told no one wanted to hear about
the war anymore, the Gang was a success, due, according to Janis, to
“the boys [who] were the real thing and the public realised it
from the moment they stuck their heads through the curtain….”
(Janis, Elsie. So
Far, So Good!: An Autobiography.
New York, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1932, 211)
The period following the war and after Elsie
Janis and Her Gang was hard for Janis. Her own assessment was,
“[T]he war was my high spot and I think there is only one real
peak in each life!” (So Far, So Good!, 194-95).
The experience of entertaining the troops had been
exhilarating, and she still found the excitement when veterans were
in her civilian audiences. As the years went by, however, the
veterans were fewer and fewer, and the excitement much less. In
addition to Elsie Janis and Her Gang, she appeared in The
Follies of 1921 and Puzzles of 1925. She returned to
London and Paris periodically through the 1920s for It’s All Wrong
which Janis wrote, directed and acted in, and revues (Elsie Janis
at Home, La Revue d’Elsie Janis). As her stage
appearances became less frequent, Janis continued writing and
songwriting, and moved into production supervision with such shows
as New Faces of 1934. Her final Broadway appearance was Frank
Fay’s Show in 1939 with Eva Le Gallienne, whom, as a young
actress, Janis had mentored.
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Sheet
music cover: “’Apres la guerre!” (After the War) Sung by Elsie
Janis and her ‘Gang.’”
Lyric and music by B. C. Hilliam.
M. Witmark & Sons, 1917.
From the Elsie Janis Collection of the Laura M. Mueller
British and American Theatre and Film Collections. |
| “Elsie
Janis of the U.S.A. who probably did more than any other American
artist to entertain the boys in France, has just returned from
‘over there’ after receiving the courtesy title of General.”
The Theatre Magazine (July 1919), 5.
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“Elsie
Janis, the Sweetheart of the A.E.F. and a tiny member of her
gang, appearing in a her new revue at the George M. Cohan
Theatre”; and her poem, “Irish Philosophy.”
The Theatre Magazine (January 1920), 14. |
| “Elsie
Janis: Distinctly one of the “gang” and as full of “pep” as
ever, this charming and popular comedienne has started on a
Trans-Continental tour supported by her devoted wartime associates.”
The Theatre Magazine (May1922), 281. |
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“Elsie
Janis” Temporarily lost to the stage, the spirited mimic is
being heard in concert recital this season.”
The Theatre Magazine (March 1924), 25. |
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